Authorities say an Idaho woman has been arrested and accused in connection with the disappearance of a 5-year-old kid who lived just down the street from her in 2021. According to court papers acquired by PEOPLE, Sarah Wondra, 35, of Fruitland, was arrested and charged with felony failure to notify a death on Friday in a case that has plagued the community for more than a year.
According to KTVB, Michael Vaughan was last seen at 6:30 p.m. on July 27, 2021, in his neighborhood between Southwest 9th Street and Redwing Street, where Wondra and her husband Stacey Wondra live. “Our investigation determined Sarah Wondra may have had knowledge of Michael’s death and failed to report it,” Fruitland Police Chief J.D. Huff alleged Monday to KTVB.
“We do not believe she is the only person that has knowledge of this and we will be seeking out those people who could possibly be connected,” Huff said. Authorities have been looking for Michael since he went missing. According to KATV, police recently got a “very credible tip” that led them to Michael’s area and Wondra.
“During the course of the investigation we received information the remains of Michael Vaughan might be found [behind the Wondras’ house],” Huff told KTVB on Saturday. As a result, we obtained a search warrant. We have not found anything yet, but we will continue to excavate in hopes of finding his remains,” Huff added.
According to a probable cause document, officers served the search warrant on Wondra’s home on Friday night. Crews have been digging up the yard of the house since Friday night. The yard was also searched by cadaver dogs.
‘God Already Told Me Who Did It
Following her arrest, YouTuber Jonathan Lee Riches noted that Wondra had posted TikTok videos of herself in her kitchen, with Michael’s missing person flyer on the refrigerator behind her. “Authorities are searching her property right now,” Riches says in the video. “That’s very, very disturbing to see a flyer of a missing person on a possible suspect’s refrigerator.”
When the judge reminded her of her rights, she told the newspaper, “I don’t have any reason to be silent because I didn’t do anything wrong.” According to the complaint, while held Friday night, she reportedly informed officers she had nothing to do with Michael’s death.
According to the Idaho Statesman, she allegedly stated that she “definitely did not kill that boy” and that “God already informed me who did it.” She also allegedly informed investigators that she had never murdered anybody, but that her husband was responsible for the boy’s death. According to the affidavit, she informed authorities that her husband reportedly buried the kid “in the backyard by the shed.”